Are you interested in a career in accounting and finance? You can choose a suitable course from among a list of accounting degree programmes offered by top colleges and universities in the United Kingdom. Careers in accounting and finance, especially chartered accountancy, often provide a promising future with high salaries. After successfully completing a recognised accounting degree course, you can apply for a good job position in public, as well as private sectors.
Doing an Accounting and Finance course in the UK can help you enhance your skills in diverse fields and interests, such as economics, cost accounting, mathematics, taxation, auditing, along with political science, sociology and psychology as well. After completing an Accounting course, you will be able to interpret, prepare and manage financial information efficiently, and also gain a theoretical as well as practical understanding and knowledge of the core and foundation of financial practice.
Which Accounting Degree to Go For?
There are many Accounting and Finance degrees programmes that enable you to choose from a wide range of career paths. Before you jump to any conclusion, you need to learn about the scope and advantages (or disadvantages) each of them has. We have made a comprehensive list of the top Accounting and Finance degrees available in the UK, depending on your interest and career goals.
- Associate’s Degree in Accounting: An Accounting Associate’s Degree is typically a 2-year programme, offered at most of the recognised universities and colleges. In this course, students learn about the fundamentals of the principles of accounting and the basics of business. It is basically an introduction to an accounting education course as it offers the fundamental concepts required to get a basic understanding of accounting and finance. After becoming an associate accounting graduate, you can opt for careers in bookkeeping or positions as accounting clerks and accounting assistants. Although there are plenty of opportunities, for a more lucrative position you will be required to obtain more advanced degrees.
- Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting: A student of an undergraduate programme in accounting can have plenty of career opportunities as there is a growing demand for such candidates. Doing a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting would be a good start towards building a successful career into private and public sectors, as well as into governmental and non-profit organisations. Accounting graduates can choose from among the various job roles available for them, including tax accountant, staff accountant, auditor, and others.
- Master’s Degree in Accounting: It is typically a 1-2 year programme, designed to provide students with an in-depth and advanced understanding of finance, business and accounting. A Master’s Degree in Accounting will often lead certain specialisations, such as Auditing and Tax. A student doing a Master’s in Tax would be able to research new topics and interpret complex regulations. A candidate doing Masters in Auditing will be trained to perform complex assurance tasks such as financial services, auditing and pension funding accounting.
- MBA in Accounting: Although there aren’t any courses called “MBA in Accounting”, this term often refers to a Master’s degree in Business course, which focuses on accounting. Most undergraduate students pursue this course after obtaining their Bachelor’s Degree, as it fulfils the 150 credit hour. The course is offered by some business schools in the country and provides students with management experience and knowledge.
- PhD in Accounting: Although not many students choose PhD in Accounting due to its limited applicability, it opens many doors to highly paid and lucrative jobs, however, they are usually limited to the academic fields only.
- Forensic Accounting Degree: This is a field of fraud investigations, when the accountants thoroughly analyse financial records in order to whether any establish fraudulent activity has taken place. A certified fraud examiner (CFE) can work in any sector, including large public firms, governmental agencies, independent research groups or private companies. To cope up with the financial market risks that occur as a result of fraud, forensic accountants are always on high demand across the globe.
Other courses in accountancy available in the United Kingdom include:
- Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) accounting courses
- Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) qualifications
- Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) chartered accountant status
- Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) business finance award
Where to Study Accounting and Finance in the UK?
The top ten high-ranking universities offering courses in Accounting and Finance in 2020 / 2021 academic year include:
- University of Leeds
- University of Warwick
- Loughborough University
- Nottingham Trent University
- University of Glasgow
- University of Bath
- London South Bank University
- University of Derby
- University of Buckingham
- University of East Anglia
Entry Requirements for Applying to an Accounting and Finance Degree
The typical entry requirements for Accounting and Finance Degree courses in the UK include –
- Minimum of 35 points in International Baccalaureate.
- At least one field of Accountancy, Mathematics or Business for A-levels with marks no lower than B.
- Overall of 6.5, with no less than 6.0 in any single component for IELTS
- A UK GCSE Level (Grade C) or equivalent in Mathematics.
- Proficiency over English language.
Careers after Studying Accounting Degree
Accounting and Finance Graduates have the scopes for moving on to a broad range of career opportunities and positions in both, private and public sectors. Deciding on the best career option is not always an easy task. Students tend to get confused with so many options available, and sometimes end up making wrong choices. To help you avoid such issues, we have come up with a list of career options that you might take after completing your accounting and finance course.
- Accountancy
- Chartered Accountancy
- Financial Advisor
- Banking
- Financial Trader
- Insurance Brokering
- Tax Advisor
- Investment Analyst
Due to such a large number of accounting and finance degrees available in the UK, one can explore from a range of employment opportunities offered by various firms and sectors. These include accountancy firms, insurance companies, banks and other financial institutions, consultancies and medium to large enterprises.
The eligibility criteria and educational qualifications for accounting positions may vary, depending on the organisation. Some employers would expect you to hold proper and recognised professional certificates, and you will definitely need them in order to climb the corporate ladder faster and more successfully.
